Song of Horror

There are few indie horror titles as awesome at catching that fixed camera horror game aesthetic as Song of Horror and even less that reach the nail-biting tension on display here. The constant fear of losing a character permanently is a kicker but it really enhances the experience, making each choice drastically more important. The visual design and story should keep players entranced as they confront the horrors of the music box mystery! All horror fans deserve this title in their library.

Eerie, with nice lighting – you’ll want to see what horrors lie in wait. Thanks to The Presence, even replaying brings brand-new frights. Worth a scare. [Issue#3, p.128]

Some technical flaws are totally compensated by its absorbing atmosphere and its "no mercy" philosophy. If you are a diehard fan of the survival horror genre, you should try it.

Song of Horror is not the perfect return to old school horror, but it makes one hell of an impression. An adaptive adversary combined with fantastic ambience more than outweigh last gen character models, iffy voice work, and lengthy chapters. Protocol Games is onto something here, and horror fans must give it a go.

Song of horror tries to retain the old survival horror spirit but also brings back some of the issues of the genre with that, like its lackluster controls. Beyond that this is an interesting adventure with some original ideas and a good story behind it.

Song of Horror offers a horror experience that will satisfy fans of the genre, as it offers an entertaining story and brings up some brilliant ideas, although it does not execute them as efficiently as possible, with a less than average graphic section that weighs down the end result of the work.

If Protocol Games had a little bit more money and experience, we could have had a something truly special with this game. But as it stands Song of Horror is just a solid work, with some minor and neglectable shortcomings.

Song of Horror does a great job of bringing back that classic survival horror feel. Certain mechanics that made sense when the game was episodic make less sense in this full release but it's still an enjoyable nod to a now less than common genre.

Song of Horror tries its best to be a swan song of survival horror and acts as a return to form. However, frustrating puzzles and random deaths cause unexpected hang-ups on the experience. Yes, I remember when saving was limited to Ink Ribbons, but at least there was a choice in that feature. Still, there’s a lot to enjoy about this episodic nightmare.

Song of Horror has the potential to be a great game for fans of dark, gothic horrors. There’s a great story to be told and the ominous atmosphere, randomly generated scares, and some genius puzzles will keep you coming back time and again – providing you can overlook the janky controls, camera, and some technical issues.

Harken back to the late 1990's and early 2000's and the survival horror genre was enjoying a golden age in video games. Song of Horror emulates the greats of that time but, unlike those franchises which have since evolved with modern game development, Song of Horror seems stuck in the past. For nostalgia's sake, it's worth checking out for fans of that era, but otherwise it's a hit-or-miss experience that falls well short of contemporary horror games.

The game itself is an incredible homage to classic horror games with just the right amount of modern-day infusion to allow things to run smoothly (when they are running, that is). Bug-free, Song of Horror is scary for all of the right reasons and is absolutely worth checking out. However, in its current state, I’m not so sure that it’s scaring players in the way that it intends to. At least the PC version supposedly works just fine!

Song of Horror manages to provide atmospheric horror, but its lack of quality characters, unapologetically slow gameplay and heartbreaking save corruption bug make it a game that just isn't worth the time.